Eric Mann's Blog

  • Ethics in Software Development

    Where do we, as software developers, draw the line with releasing new software? Do we build software with the common good in mind and ignore the potential consequences of releasing such tools to the world? Do we hold back potentially groundbreaking achievements because they could be misused by the wrong hands?

  • Open Source Matters

    Trust and transparency go hand-in-hand. If you’re not transparent, how could I possibly trust you?

  • Can I Count on You?

    Anyone who knows me can tell you that trust is a big deal for me. I have left jobs because of a lack of trust. I’ve quit organizations because of a lack of trust. I’ve killed friendships because of a lack of trust. If I can trust you – really trust you – then things are great. If I can’t trust you …

  • How I Started in Web Development

    Every now and again, someone asks me how I got started in web development. They want to know what classes I took in college. What my degree is in. Who I studied under. It’s not a big secret, so I’ll tell you.

  • Dwell Not on What Lies Ahead

    Often, we look forward at those ahead to help build a personal definition of greatness – and then we chase after that with all our might. This is not a bad thing. It is when our definition of greatness becomes tied to achieving that target – which is often a moving target – that our once noble pursuit becomes corrupt.

  • Defining Your Audience

    I’ve written at length on how to identify your perfect customer, regardless of your business’ focus, but finding a “perfect customer” for a blog is quite a bit harder. This blog is now over 6 years old, and I still don’t really know who my audience is.

  • WordPress Core Proposal: SUDO

    Logging in to your WordPress site as an administrator when your plan is just to write is a bad idea. The admin user should be for administration and you should use an editor-level user for writing. But this dual-login workflow can be needlessly complicated on many sites. Instead, I propose we introduce a SUDO mode for WordPress – allowing trusted editor-level users to act as administrators when needed.

  • Hyper-Individualism is Dangerous

    It’s a bit funny how so many people will think the exact same way at the same time assuming they’re unique. It’s a bit depressing how so many people think being unique – in a consumer context – is a good thing.

  • Does “The Fold” Still Matter

    Does “the fold” still matter, or is this an outdated concept left over from the days of print media? In many ways, the answer is “no” because the web is a very different place than print. But in some ways, the answer is also a resounding “yes!”

  • Photon and HTTPS – Making It Work

    Jetpack’s Photon service doesn’t like it when image assets are served over SSL. I took some time to dig in to the issue and coded a quick workaround to enable Photon on a site locked down to serve all assets over SSL.